David Moyes Offers Honest First Take on Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock Stadium

David Moyes Breaks Silence After First Visit to Everton's New Stadium

Walking through the gates of Bramley-Moore Dock for the first time, David Moyes didn’t try to hide his curiosity. The Everton boss had purposely kept his distance from the club’s new home while the heat of the relegation battle was still on. Only now, with Premier League status in hand and some space to breathe, did he take a look for himself.

He was immediately struck by what he called the 'steepness of the bowl.' Everywhere he looked, Moyes saw what every fan hopes for—good views from every seat, the kind that turns even a dull 0-0 into something special. It’s not common to find a modern stadium without a handful of terrible seats, but Moyes insisted, "there isn’t a bad view in the house." The design aims to keep supporters right on top of the action and, judging by his first impression, it pulls it off.

But not everything went to plan on this visit. The pitch itself—a key focus for any manager—had been dug up and was very much a construction site. For Moyes, this was more than just an inconvenience. With pre-season on the horizon, he had hoped to get a sense of the surface that his team would be playing on next year, and perhaps to use the ground for early training sessions. Now, any hands-on testing will have to wait until the final touches go in and testing wraps up.

If Moyes was frustrated, though, he didn’t show it. "You want to try it out," he admitted, but also pointed out the reality: moving to a new stadium is never as smooth as it looks in artists’ drawings. There’s a lot still unfinished inside, with work continuing in the stands and behind the scenes.

Bramley-Moore Dock: Excitement, Concerns and a New Chapter

Everton fans are split. Some are already fired up about the move, while others have raised their voices over the test events being staged at Bramley-Moore Dock before the first official match. Fans have spotted concerts and other big events getting the green light—even before the team has set foot on the pitch for football. That’s led to frustration, with some supporters feeling it takes the shine off what’s meant to be a football-first ground.

Moyes, though, gets it. He’s been around long enough to know that running a modern stadium means balancing tradition with the cold math of finances. These external events, while not the romantic ideal, are now standard practice for clubs facing rising operating costs. Former Everton keeper Tim Howard, who visited before Moyes, echoed the sense of awe at the place and its massive scale. The first impressions from those who matter most—the people who’ll work there every week—are mostly positive, despite the dust and the noise of ongoing work.

Everton are getting closer to waving a bittersweet farewell to Goodison Park, their home for over a century. Every brick at Bramley-Moore Dock represents more than new beginnings; it’s a gamble on the club’s future, both on and off the pitch. Moyes’ cautious optimism, his choice to focus on avoiding relegation before giving in to the excitement of a new home, says a lot about the priorities at Everton. The sense for now is this: the club is readying for something big, there’s plenty left to do, and it’s going to test everyone’s nerves as the finishing touches go down.